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Arcadia Bay
"So maybe Arcadia Bay will actually turn out to be the island of treasure and adventure I've been looking for..." — Max in her diary on August 18, 2013 Arcadia Bay is a picturesque seaside town in Oregon, United States. It was originally inhabited and founded by Native Americans, as mentioned by Ms. Grant. According to her, when the settlers arrived they lived peacefully with one another. The town is experiencing strange weather and other phenomena that is somehow linked to Max Caulfield's time-controlling abilities. A snowstorm ends episode one, "Chrysalis", and an eclipse ends episode two, "Out of Time", while the reoccurring deaths of animals are seen throughout episode three, "Chaos Theory", and a double moon appears at the end of episode four, "Dark Room". In episode five, "Polarized", Arcadia Bay's fate is in the player's hands as it can be destroyed by the tornado in Max's visions. Arcadia Bay's main source of commerce was fishing, which has now all dried up due to the Prescott family's doing. Locations Wildlife Arcadia Bay has a large and diverse range of wildlife. The following is a list of appearing animals (as seen in the game): * Deer * Squirrels * Birds (Owls, Seagulls) * Insects (Roaches, Ants, Butterflies) * Whales * Variety of fish Some animals can be interpreted as spirits, see spirit animals and some are related to optional photos, e.g. the squirrels or minor choices, e.g. the blue Jay. Symbolism Arcadia is a Utopia introduced in Greek and Latin mythology, which is full of flowers, fruits and forests. (TBC) "Even in Arcadia, there I am." Inspirations The developers conducted research on the setting by travelling to the Pacific Northwest for the purpose of conveying a nostalgic and autumnal feel to the game. The development team visited the region, took photographs, looked at local newspapers and used Google Street View to make sure the environment was accurately portrayed. * Arcadia Bay has been built with inspirations from multiple locations in Oregon. These probably include Newport, OR and Lincoln City, OR on the coast. In the episode "Out of Time", Warren notes that the Newberg drive-in is sixty miles away from Blackwell, which matches the distance from Lincoln City. * Several characteristic details are very likely based on the area of Tillamook Bay. The railroad track, water tower and harbour can or could be found in Garibaldi, OR, while the lumber mill as well as some signs can be found in Tillamook, OR. The lighthouse design might be based on either Heceta Head Lighthouse or Yaquina Head Lighthouse (Portland, OR). * The co-ordinates found in David's locker in Episode 4 actually are the co-ordinates for Tillamook Bay, although they correspond to the water itself, to prevent the tracking co-ordinates to match up with real roads. This is further evidence that Arcadia Bay may be based off of Tillamook Bay and its surrounding areas. * It's possible that the town is meant to represent the town of Bayocean, OR which was destroyed over the course of 40 years by man-made erosion, and existed where there is now water. Trivia * The town was originally called "Aurora Creek" before Christian Divine suggested the name "Arcadia Bay" because "it just sounded more peaceful and mystic, and the word ‘Arcadia’ has all these connotations that would be fun to play with and contrast with the darkness that’s actually going on in the town. It has all these different representations and metaphors that you can look in to and work with."From ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ to ‘Life Is Strange’ – A Discussion with Writer Christian Divine Gallery Locations Agate Beach.jpg|Agate Beach WKfpFyYXqX4-1-.jpg Yaquina Head Lighthouse-20-1-.jpg|Yaquina Head lighthouse arcadia bay.png|Map of Arcadia Bay by the Lighthouse ArcadiaBay-TillamookBay.jpg Menu Screens 2016-01-26_00026.png.jpg|"Chrysalis" 2016-01-26_00012.jpg|"Out of Time" 2016-01-24_00009.jpg|"Chaos Theory" 319630 screenshots 2015-05-30 00051.jpg|"Dark Room" 2015-12-27_00029.jpg|"Polarized" References Category:Locations Category:Article stubs